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Turron Davenport, ESPN
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Second-year Tennessee Titans safety Matthew Jackson’s first NFL snap is one he’ll always remember. Having grown up in a housing complex called CWA Plaza in the shadows of Nissan Stadium, the Titans’ home was in eyesight of his residence — where all he had to do was cross the street to be on the premises.
So when Jackson lined up alongside veteran kicker Nick Folk as part of the coverage unit for the season-opening kickoff against the New Orleans Saints, the only thing he could think of was how electrifying the setting was at the Caesars Superdome as he donned the colors of the team that he grew up envying, and everything seemed like a movie.
“That was probably the biggest atmosphere of my life,” Jackson told ESPN. “You don’t forget when the bright lights are on and that was probably the loudest stadium I ever played in.”
The Superdome attendance dwarfed the size crowds Jackson was used to playing in front of in college at Eastern Kentucky. And there definitely weren’t waves of people piling in to watch Jackson play at Hillsboro High School in Nashville.
Jackson was born in Chicago, but he moved to Nashville with his mom and brother when he was a year old.
His mother, Andrea Clark, had Jackson at the age of 19. She received a full scholarship through the United Negro College Fund to attend Fisk University in Nashville at the time, but it required her to start school soon after taking a year off. So she moved south, where she worked a customer service job on top of school to make ends meet once they arrived.
It wasn’t until the first grade that Jackson started playing organized football. Clark needed to find an outlet that allowed her son to burn off extra energy. Jackson’s teachers used to call Clark sometimes because they felt he was disrupting the learning environment.
“I put him in football so I wouldn’t lose my job,” Clark said. “I wanted to prevent myself from having to keep leaving work.”
Football practice was the outlet Jackson needed.
“Football was an answer that I didn’t know I was praying for because I was like, ‘I don’t know how to handle him,'” Clark said. “He’s always been so high energy.”
JACKSON WAS A standout in track and field as a long jumper in addition to football during his high school days.
Attending a magnet school like Hillsboro offered Jackson the opportunity to get away from the type of neighborhood he grew up in. He had to get up early in the morning to take two city busses to get to school.
“Understanding where I grew up, where I was going to go to, as far as what zone school I was in, I knew it was a better opportunity,” Jackson said. “I could have ended up like the regular statistics, either being shot dead or gang banging at my zone school and not taking the smart way or the career path.”
Jackson admittedly didn’t get the same attention as some of the more prominent Nashville area high school football players. While other local players in Jackson’s class received offers from bigger schools, programs like Austin Peay, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State along with Murray State, Samford, UT Martin came calling for him.
Jackson’s dad, Brian, who still resides in Chicago, simply told him he’d just have to work a little harder than some of his peers. Ultimately Jackson decided to play for Eastern Kentucky where he moved to linebacker. That’s when things really started to come together.
As a redshirt junior, Jackson started six out of eight games in 2020 where he had 79 tackles, and he cemented himself as a pro prospect the following season when he earned the first of two consecutive All-Atlantic Sun Conference selections. A career-high 102 tackles in 2021 landed Jackson as the Atlantic Sun Conference defensive player of the year and Buck Buchanan Award finalist, which is given to top FCS defensive player.
The final year at Eastern Kentucky was good enough to gain invites to college all star games like the Dream Bowl and the National Gridiron Showcase. But Jackson was without an agent since most of them abandoned him after he suffered a concussion midway through his senior season.
Local agent Zach Spires, from Aspires Sports Management, found out about Jackson through a client named Shedrick Kirk. Jackson and Kirk, who plays for the Nashville Kats Arena Football team, trained together at X3 Performance and Physical Therapy Center in Nashville.
Jackson’s parents paid for his training at X3. His dad, who also played high school football, saw the vision and saved up money over the years. Clark took on a second job to help cover the expenses. X3 was their choice because they wanted Jackson to stay close to Nashville where he had a support system to help with his daughter, Summer, who is now 3.
Eastern Kentucky’s pro day was next, with 12 teams in attendance, none of which were the Titans. But Titans scouting coordinator Patrick Woo had his eyes on Jackson and helped get him to the team’s local pro day. Safety coach Scott Booker, who has since moved on to the Buffalo Bills, also took interest in Jackson.
Despite playing outside linebacker in college, Jackson tested well in safety drills resulting in he, and Colton Dowell, being asked to stay after the pro day to talk with then-coach Mike Vrabel.
The Titans selected Dowell, a wide receiver out of Tennessee-Martin in the seventh round, and like Jackson, Dowell attended high school (Wilson Central) locally. Jackson signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent, joining Eastern Kentucky teammate TK McLendon Jr.
“I think the Titans were the best fit, so we got that deal done,” Spires told ESPN. “We had a few undrafted free agent contract offers, and the Titans just wanted him to come to minicamp.”
Local product Matthew Jackson on making the #Titans 53-man roster. pic.twitter.com/jloqJK2qvo
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) August 31, 2023
JACKSON HAS FOND memories from attending Titans games as a kid. He remembers the glory days of Chris Johnson, who became the sixth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season in 2009, and seeing former 2015 No. 2 pick Marcus Mariota’s career get off to a hot start in Tennessee as well. When he was in high school, Jackson became a fan of former Titans safety Kevin Byard III — who was traded last season to the Philadelphia Eagles — because they played the same position.
Before the trade, Jackson’s locker was directly across from Byard. It was a perfect opportunity to learn from one of the best. Byard invited Jackson to train with Jeremy Holt, of AthElite Performance in Nashville, to prepare for training camp.
The extra work paid off as Jackson secured a spot on the 53-man roster. But cutdown day was a rollercoaster ride.
Jackson was at the rookie hotel when his phone rang. A Titans representative told him to report to Vrabel’s office. Jackson walked in and Vrabel was sitting there with general manager Ran Carthon.
Instead of leading off with a statement like, “You made the team,” Carthon and Vrabel pointed out things Jackson needed to work on. At that point, Jackson embraced what would come next — even if that meant he was getting released. Then they told him he made the initial 53-man roster.
“It was just a dream come true at that point,” Jackson said.
Jackson played mostly on special teams and finished with six tackles in 10 games last season. Entering Year 2, Jackson will likely work with the second unit at safety behind starter Amani Hooker when the Titans report for training camp on July 23.
Despite moving to Nashville as a toddler, Jackson said he “kind of grew up as a Bears fan” as well. So a little extra may be on the line when the Titans open the season at the Chicago Bears on Sept. 8. “That should be a big one,” Jackson said with a smile.